Menachem Ben Yakov

General Discussion on LYG

Heres my letter. Please post yours.
======================...

Oct.19, 2008

Dear Ms. Pereira,

I recently purchased shares in Lloyds TSB based upon management statements made in the Interim Report issued on July 30. Those statements are as follows -
" Against this backdrop, Lloyds TSB continued to deliver good growth momentum in all its core businesses and is well positioned for a lower growth environment.
Given this strong performance and our confidence in the Group's future earnings performance, the board has decided to increase the 2008 interim dividend by 2 per cent to 11.4 pence per share. This increase demonstrates the strength of the Group's business model, balanced with a level of caution on the outlook for the UK economy."
Now holders of common shares are in jeopardy.
Because of the proposed merger it seems Lloyds needs a government bailout that will suspend dividend payments to holders of its common stock for a minimum of five years. However the government, for its largess, will realize a 12% p.a. return on its investment.
I am sure you have seen the recent article regarding Lloyds management living the good life. Spending shareholders money on fine wine and caviar. Will the shareholders of Lloyds who invested for income, trusting in managements veracity, be forced to dine on cat food while the big shots get fat by stealing our dividends? Is this the fairness that the U.K. is lauded for?
Shareholders of Lloyds would be INSANE to vote yes on the proposed merger and I, for one, am looking for a good lawyer!
Sincerely, Menachem Ben Yakov

General Discussion on LYG

ATTENTION LLOYDS SHAREHOLDERS!!!
======================...

Office of Fair Trading
17 October 2008

Anticipated acquisition by Lloyds TSB plc of HBOS plc - public interest consideration



On 25 September 2008, the Office of Fair Trading issued an invitation to comment on the public interest consideration specified in the Secretary of State's Intervention Notice, 'the stability of the UK financial system', in the anticipated acquisition by Lloyds TSB plc of HBOS plc. In light of the rapidly changing conditions in the financial markets, and in consultation with the Secretary of State, the OFT has extended its deadline for receiving representations on the public interest consideration until Thursday 23 October 2008.



The Office of Fair Trading is required to complete its competition investigation and make its report to the Secretary of State in accordance with section 44 of the Enterprise Act 2002 within the period ending on 24 October 2008. As part of its report, the Office of Fair Trading is required to summarise any representations it receives which relate to the public interest consideration.



Affected sector: financial services



Date for any representations about the specified public interest consideration to be received by the OFT: 23 October 2008



Case officer name: Lucília Falsarella Pereira



Tel no: 020 7211 8252



E-mail: hbos.mergerinquiry@oft...

Gilat Take Two: Anteing Up Again

Sorry for delay arbtrader.

www.google.com/search?...=

Lloyds TSB: Is a Class Action Lawsuit Shareholders' Only Remedy?

I should disclose that I recently purchased shares in Lloyds TSB as traded as an ADR on the NYSE. I did so before the HBOS take over had been presented. I also took management at its word when it issued its Interim Report. For the record should the shares rebound because the merger is cancelled I will sell at the first opportunity. Lloyds TSB IR has not responded to several eMail requests made over the last week. When I have eMailed HSBC ( which I own and think is an excellent investment ) its IR department always responded with 24 hours. The two banks are obviously night and day.

Lloyds Buys HBOS: Good Deal or Bad?

We now know the truth about the merger. And that management was not honest when it reported results only six weeks ago. Lloyds common shareholders will receive NO DIVIDENDS FOR AT LEAST 5 YEARS!!!
Maybe longer. The UK government however gets a 12% p.a. dividend on its " preference " shares.
THE MERGER IS A DISASTER. SHAREHOLDERS MUST VOTE NO!!!!!

Five Best and Worst Global Financial Stocks, YTD

It looks like a case of fraud to me when six weeks ago Lloyds TSB management could issue the following statement- " Against this backdrop, Lloyds TSB continued to deliver good growth momentum in all its core businesses and is well positioned for a lower growth environment.
Given this strong performance and our confidence in the Group's future earnings performance, the board has decided to increase the 2008 interim dividend by 2 per cent to 11.4 pence per share. This increase demonstrates the strength of the Group's business model, balanced with a level of caution on the outlook for the UK economy.'"
Now holders of common shares are in jeopardy. Lloyds it seems needs a government bailout that will suspend dividend payments to holders of its common stock for a minimum of five years. However the government, for its largess, will realize a 12% p.a. return on its investment.
Shareholders of Lloyds would be INSANE to vote yes on the proposed merger and I, for one, am looking for a good lawyer!

General Discussion on LYG

My Letter to Lloyds TSB Investor Relations.....

Oct.9,2008

Mr. Michael Oliver, Director
Investor Relations
Lloyds TSB

Dear Mr. Oliver,
I am a shareholder of Lloyds TSB as sold as an ADR on the NYSE. I am also a frequent contributor on a number of financial websites and message boards. This request for information and your response will both be posted on the web so please consider this for the record.
The Sept.18,2008 declaration regrading the proposed take over of HBOS contained the following statement-
" The Enlarged Group intends to operate a dividend policy which is consistent with attaining its desired capital ratios and financing the growth of the business. In implementation of these objectives, the Enlarged Group intends to pay the final dividend for the 2008 financial year in shares. Thereafter the Group intends to pay a 2009 dividend based on a payout ratio of 40 per cent. of underlying earnings and a progressive dividend policy thereafter."
Subsequent press reports imply that there has been some change and the next dividend , calendar-wise , will be paid in shares not in cash.
Firstly, are the press reports true? Has there been a change in the dividend policy of Sept.18? Will the next dividend paid be in cash or shares?
Second, will he new scheme announced by the U.K government cause a material change in the dividend policy declared on Sept.18?
I look forward to your timely response.
Respectfully, Menachem Ben Yako

General Discussion on HBC

I have owned and followed HSBC for ten years. I have never sold a share. Had I a crystal ball I certainly would have sold at $99 to buy back in later but since I don't, I didn't. However I have no regrets. With todays environment I think thats an interesting statement to be able to make about a financial company.
HSBC has been in business since 1865. On Feb.8,2007 it issued the first profit warning in its history to shareholders. The reason- sub-prime exposure and the deteriorating U.S. housing market. That, in of of itself, is quite remarkable. After all one would imagine that it would be a " local " bank- a Citigroup or Bank of America, that would be the first to recognize the coming storm. At the time of that warning HSBC management estimated that it would take three to five years to work out the problems. We are now twenty months in.
In the following months HSBC has held up remarkably well. While the market as a whole is looking for a bottom it is my opinion HSBC bottomed on Feb.11th. My conviction was strong enough to cause me to make my largest single purchase , dollar wise, of HSBC in the last ten years ( messages.finance.yahoo... ) at $69.50/share.
Since then HSBC has paid dividends of $3.75 with another $0.90 dividend due next month.
Since I am not a hedge fund I must measure my purchases with care. I have purchased HSBC in a range of $50 to $90. My purchases have been opportunistic so when the price is a bargain I am able to purchase more shares.
HSBC management has committed itself to what they refer to as " a progressive dividend policy " and to maintaining adequate capital to pay those dividends. As I see it HSBC will be the first to resolve the current problems and will be the first state that there will be no further write downs and that all extraordinary issues have been accounted for. Here at least in one management team that takes its obligations to shareholders seriously. I have purchased shares for my own grandchildren. I think that says a lot.

Gilat Take Two: Anteing Up Again

Thank you for your comments arbtrader. The VC company I mentioned is Mivtach Shamir. A quick search will provide numerous articles on the deal , the fallout and Lehmans' involvement.
MBY

Gilat Take Two: Anteing Up Again

ManAboutDallas, You are 100% correct! I should have labeled my figure as the " adjusted price ". I appreciate your taking the time to set the record straight and I am heartened that an investor as astute as yourself shares my enthusiasm for Gilat Satellite.
Menachem Ben Yakov

Witnessing History

A history lesson....
" On November 12, 1999, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. One of the effects of the repeal was to allow commercial and investment banks to consolidate. Some economists have criticized the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act as contributing to the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis.[7][8]
The repeal enabled commercial lenders such as Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank by assets, to underwrite and trade instruments such as mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations and establish so-called structured investment vehicles, or SIVs, that bought those securities. Citigroup played a major part in the repeal. Then called Citicorp, the company merged with Travelers Insurance company the year before using loopholes in Glass-Steagall that allowed for temporary exemptions. With lobbying led by Roger Levy, the "finance, insurance and real estate industries together are regularly the largest campaign contributors and biggest spenders on lobbying of all business sectors [in 1999]. They laid out more than $200 million for lobbying in 1998, according to the Center for Responsive Politics..." These industries succeeded in their two decades long effort to repeal the act.[9]
The banking industry had been seeking the repeal of Glass-Steagall since at least the 1980's. In 1987 the Congressional Research Service prepared a report which explored the case for preserving Glass-Steagall and the case against preserving the act.
The argument for preserving Glass-Steagall (as written in 1987):
1. Conflicts of interest characterize the granting of credit – lending – and the use of credit – investing – by the same entity, which led to abuses that originally produced the Act
2. Depository institutions possess enormous financial power, by virtue of their control of other people’s money; its extent must be limited to ensure soundness and competition in the market for funds, whether loans or investments.
3. Securities activities can be risky, leading to enormous losses. Such losses could threaten the integrity of deposits. In turn, the Government insures deposits and could be required to pay large sums if depository institutions were to collapse as the result of securities losses.
4. Depository institutions are supposed to be managed to limit risk. Their managers thus may not be conditioned to operate prudently in more speculative securities businesses. An example is the crash of real estate investment trusts sponsored by bank holding companies (in the 1970s and 1980s)."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/......

General Discussion on BAC

The biggest mistake Lewis made was not in buying Merrill but in not announcing a suspension of the dividend for BAC. He could have stated this clearly in his interview this morning and the stock would have dropped to a price point where we are anyhow. Now investors or potential investors like myself will sit on the sidelines because we know that traditionally the dividend suspension causes real capitulation and marks a bottom. He should have got the news out early and tomorrow we would have seen the shares rally. Just my opinion.

Top Foreign Dividend Stocks Traded in New York

Mr.Hunkar, Your comment speaks volumes. Nothing is as impressive as a person who admits an error and thanks the person who corrects them. I will read your posts with a new enthusiasm.
I would also suggest that, in my opinion, buying both HSBC and Lloyds TSB , at current levels, represents an outstanding opportunity. I have held HSBC for ten years and have not sold a share. I recently established a position in Lloyds( $22.05 ) after waiting and watching , quite literally, for the last seven years. These are two companies an investor cannot own enough of.
Respectfully yours , Menachem Ben Yakov



On Sep 08 11:47 PM David Hunkar wrote:

> Guys - Sorry for the delayed replies.
>
> ignorant - Thanks for the note.Will be more specific and clear next
> time.
>
> User 138602 - RBS had a write-down of £5.9B due to exposure to the
> sub-prime credit
> crisis.In order to shore up its capital base the bank had a right
> issue for raising
> £12.0 B in JUne of this year.In addition the board had agreed to
> raise the Tier 1
> Capital ratio to 8%. The stock has fallen so much due to this nearly
> £6.0B loss and
> the ABN Amro purchase/integration expenses.
>
> In UK, the rights issue was made on the basis of 11 new shares for
> every 18 shares
> held at an issue of price just 200 pence which was about 46.3% discount
> to
> the closing price of 372.5 pence on Apil 21, 2008.As of June 9th,
> about 95.11%
> of the shares in the rights issue totaling about 5.8B shares were
> subscribed
> by investors.
>
> RBS has a dividend payout ratio of 45% in 2007.As per the board,
> after the rights
> issue the 2008 may be reduced.
>
> As the second largest lender in the UK after HSBC, RBS had to writedown
> this huge
> £6.0B loss. So when compared to LYG, HBC or Standard Chartered this
> writedown was high.
> Hence the stock is down a lot compared to peers.
>
> Hope the above helps.
>
>
> CARMEL - I included only the commons in this study.I should have
> mentioned this
> in the post.Preferreds are a different story. I will include then
> in future articles.
>
> Menachem Ben Yakov - Thanks for the info.I stand corrected.
>
> goatfarmer- Thanks for the suggestion. You idea will be implemented
> in the
> next similar article.Yes yields net of tax would be good to know
> but it
> gets complicated due to many issues.I can include any time of tax
> info.
> know for the mentioned countries though.
>
> Thanks everyone for your comments. It helps me serve you better.:)

By How Much Have Foreign Bank Stocks Fallen?

This news item, just reported , is exactly the type of growth I was talking about in my last post...

www.guardian.co.uk/bus...


On Sep 02 11:13 AM Menachem Ben Yakov wrote:

> HSBC hit a low on Feb.11th and I doubled my position on that date
> at $69.50/ADR. The low on that day was $69.25/ADR. Those shares have
> subsequently paid dividends totaling $3.75/ADR. I do not expect the
> share price to return to those levels ever.
> In my opinion the ADR share price will close the year at or about
> $120/ADR. That price may seem overly optimistic to some but the fundamentals
> support my analysis. I also expect new revenue streams out of Korea
> and China as ventures in those areas begin to show results. It is
> also quite possible that there will be an announcement in the second
> quarter of 2009 that no further provisions for write downs will need
> to be made as they have been fully accounted for.
> Just my opinion of course and folks should do their own homework.
>

By How Much Have Foreign Bank Stocks Fallen?

HSBC hit a low on Feb.11th and I doubled my position on that date at $69.50/ADR. The low on that day was $69.25/ADR. Those shares have subsequently paid dividends totaling $3.75/ADR. I do not expect the share price to return to those levels ever.
In my opinion the ADR share price will close the year at or about $120/ADR. That price may seem overly optimistic to some but the fundamentals support my analysis. I also expect new revenue streams out of Korea and China as ventures in those areas begin to show results. It is also quite possible that there will be an announcement in the second quarter of 2009 that no further provisions for write downs will need to be made as they have been fully accounted for.
Just my opinion of course and folks should do their own homework.


On Sep 02 10:42 AM andyn wrote:

> with Britain weak, HSBC should go down to less than 70